in the us — a state of emergency is declared in maryland after a cargo ship hit a bridge in baltimore — leading to its complete collapse. the collapsed bridge served as a major route through the city and the port of baltimore. welcome to world business report. we will assess the latest on what we know about the bridge collapse and the economic implications as well. a major bridge in the us city of baltimore has collapsed after a container ship crashed into it. the bridge plunged into the water at around 1:30am local time, along with vehicles and people.

a huge search operation is under way for at least seven missing people, and the ship is now wedged into debris from the francis scott key bridge. michelle fleury is our new york business correspondent. give us a sense of what we know so far? what is happening there? we had a ress far? what is happening there? we had a press conference _ far? what is happening there? we had a press conference a _ far? what is happening there? we had a press conference a short _ far? what is happening there? we had a press conference a short while - far? what is happening there? we had a press conference a short while ago i a press conference a short while ago in which the focus is very much on search and rescue and there are six individuals whose whereabouts is unknown and that very much as the priority, ahead of some of the business concerns, but if you want to look further down the line, there is no doubt that the ramifications of what has happened overnight will be felt for quite some time. essentially, we are looking at one of the major american ports frozen for months ahead and we will talk a

lot about infrastructure and the need to rebuild the bridge. there is a lot but as i said, right now, the focus of officials on the ground very much is focusing on those who are missing. very much is focusing on those who are missing-— are missing. what are we learning about the potential _ are missing. what are we learning about the potential causes - are missing. what are we learning about the potential causes and - are missing. what are we learning l about the potential causes and what played out in the very early hours of this morning it was just after midnight —— hours of the morning? it wasjust after midnight midnight —— hours of the morning? it was just after midnight when the boat lost propulsion and one of the key factors, as they lost control of the ship, they were able to send a mayday and it was a massive scramble by emergency services to prevent more vehicles from being able to get on the bridge because it was open at that time. so we hope that has limited the number of casualties that we are seeing. there was a work route doing the repairs on the

bridge overnight, and they seemed to be the focus of a lot of questions about whether or not they are safe or not —— there was a work crew doing repairs. for or not -- there was a work crew doing repairs-— or not -- there was a work crew doing repairs. for now, thanks for “oininu doing repairs. for now, thanks for joining us- — peter morici is a professor emeritus at the university of maryland and he has been over the bridge many times, travelling up the east coast. how important is the bridge on this busy route? too early to assess the economic implications but this is a major port in the us and one that handles a lot of cargo and it could be out of action for quite a while? this is the largest— of action for quite a while? this is the largest east _ of action for quite a while? this is the largest east coast _ of action for quite a while? this is the largest east coast port, - of action for quite a while? this is the largest east coast port, the i the largest east coast port, the east coast has many more people than the west coast, the major north, north and south are to free, it goes right under the harbour, —— north to south artery. major distributors

like amazon have got their warehouses there. this is as close as we get to the suez canal. unlike the suez canal, the workaround is more convenient, and they can be used but there is no place on the east coast that can take this kind of cargo, and some of it could end “p of cargo, and some of it could end up going to los angeles and being taken across the country so this is a major deal. it really is a very big issue. it a major deal. it really is a very big issue-— a major deal. it really is a very bi issue. . , ., ., big issue. it adds time and cost of those deliveries, _ big issue. it adds time and cost of those deliveries, of _ big issue. it adds time and cost of those deliveries, of course. - big issue. it adds time and cost of those deliveries, of course. what| those deliveries, of course. what kind of cargo does it handle? 850,000 cars went through the port in 2023, the most of any us port. also sugar and coffee and it exports coal, so this is an important part of us infrastructure? absolutely. a critical part — of us infrastructure? absolutely. a critical part and _ of us infrastructure? absolutely. a critical part and it _ of us infrastructure? absolutely. a critical part and it exemplifies - of us infrastructure? absolutely. a critical part and it exemplifies why|

critical part and it exemplifies why the margin logistics is great at optimising things in terms of cost but not in terms of risk. we don't have a back—up to all of this and thatis have a back—up to all of this and that is a problem. with just in time inventory is i can see manufacturers inventory is i can see manufacturers in pennsylvania, southern new york, newjersey, down to virginia, not having components and having to delay production. this is a real problem. delay production. this is a real roblem. ' :: :: :: :: delay production. this is a real -roblem. ':: z: z: z: ., delay production. this is a real roblem. :::::: ., ., , delay production. this is a real roblem. ':: i: i: i: ., ., , ., problem. 10,000 cargo containers on that shi - , problem. 10,000 cargo containers on that ship. we — problem. 10,000 cargo containers on that ship, we understand. _ problem. 10,000 cargo containers on that ship, we understand. everything| that ship, we understand. everything comes through _ that ship, we understand. everything comes through here. _ that ship, we understand. everything comes through here. whether - that ship, we understand. everything comes through here. whether it - that ship, we understand. everything comes through here. whether it is i comes through here. whether it is automobiles or toothbrushes, if you can buy it on amazon, it comes through this port. it can buy it on amazon, it comes through this port.— can buy it on amazon, it comes through this port. it underlines the significance- _ through this port. it underlines the significance. just _ through this port. it underlines the significance. just a _ through this port. it underlines the significance. just a word _ through this port. it underlines the significance. just a word on - through this port. it underlines the significance. just a word on what . through this port. it underlines the significance. just a word on what it j significance. just a word on what it tells you about us infrastructure right now and we know recently investment in infrastructure has been criticised as being lower than

what is needed. it is early days in terms of the bridge but it speaks to debate around investment in us infrastructure. in debate around investment in us infrastructure.— infrastructure. in actuality, the roadwa s infrastructure. in actuality, the roadways through _ infrastructure. in actuality, the roadways through and - infrastructure. in actuality, the roadways through and under i infrastructure. in actuality, the l roadways through and under the infrastructure. in actuality, the - roadways through and under the port of baltimore have contingencies, and this was one of the more developed areas. if you go to international rankings of the competitiveness of economies, we come up pretty well on infrastructure, by independent authorities, but if you ask people domestically, they say, it is terrible. the people who do the ratings are people who are in the infrastructure business, and that does not mean that the infrastructure does not need improvement, the rail system is slow, for example, but we are not dealing with a third world country but the problem of a continental economy and it is expensive to keep it up but i do not know if this exemplifies the problem. there is a

lot of back—up around the port of baltimore. in lot of back-up around the port of italtimore-_ lot of back-up around the port of italtimore-— lot of back-up around the port of baltimore. , ., ., ., , baltimore. in terms of how long this road and the — baltimore. in terms of how long this road and the port _ baltimore. in terms of how long this road and the port might _ baltimore. in terms of how long this road and the port might be - baltimore. in terms of how long this road and the port might be out - baltimore. in terms of how long this road and the port might be out of. road and the port might be out of action, 21 vessels stuck in the port right now, and if it is out of action for a significant period of time, what are the implications? indie time, what are the implications? we are time, what are the implications? - are going to have much higher costs for transportation and there is a lot more stuff coming through the port long beach and remember a lot of the things come from asia, despite the longer shipping route, it is easier to take them via truck from here to new york. the north—east market is bigger than most european countries, may be all of them. it is a problem in that regard. in terms of timing, it is a very deep part of the river. getting

all of the trash out of there is going to take some considerable time. it is not going to be quick, reopening the port of baltimore, we are talking about months, not weeks, so we will have to live with this for quite some time. if we were involved in a hot war and they could get near us, that bridge is one that you would want to take out, it is likely bridge between crimea and the mainland of russia. if you wanted to take out one bridge to cause havoc in the us, this would be high on the list along with the george washington bridge which is the principal bridge going further north. those would be two really big targets if you wanted to cause havoc in the us. it targets if you wanted to cause havoc in the us. , ., ., targets if you wanted to cause havoc in the us. , ., i. in the us. it is good to get your insiaht. in the us. it is good to get your insight- you _ in the us. it is good to get your insight. you know _ in the us. it is good to get your insight. you know that - in the us. it is good to get your insight. you know that bridge i in the us. it is good to get your l insight. you know that bridge and that harbour very well. thanks for joining us. we will keep right across that story for you with all the latest developments.

away from that headline... the uk government's plans to ban disposable e—cigarettes by next year has been called into question by the boss of british american tobacco. tadeu marroco says it won't work, but has called for tougher regulations. bat is one of the biggest companies on the uk stock exchange — and the third—largest seller of vapes. it's estimated that a third of e—cigarettes sold in britain are counterfeit. bat�*s chief executive has been speaking to our business reporter ben king. is the government going far enough? i don't think it is. and based on what i saw, as important is to set the right regulation is to set the right enforcement when they come with a proposal to do, for example,

£100 spot, fine is not enough. if you compare that with france, for example, they are introducing a fine of ?100,000 in case the retailer is caught selling these products to teenagers, for example. this is a properfine and penalty. you are not in favour of an actual ban on disposables? when we have seen bans happening in other countries in the world, this hasn't been effective. in the case, for example, australia, they have banned the whole category and the amount of teenagers using the legal market is very high. the same is happening in brazil. do you welcome the government's decision to increase the age of smoking every year, to effectively move towards a world where it's illegalfor a large proportion of the population to buy cigarettes? these measures actually can have some non—intended consequence from the law enforcement point of view, but also from the retailer point of view. so we need to tackle first of all the underage vapour use. we need to have a retail licence as we do for alcohol, for example, in the country.

we also need to have a kind of very thorough age verification profile that retailers can adopt. but more important than all these regulations, we need the proper enforcement. now, a lot of critics would say, actually, everything that you advocate is all the things that line up with your own corporate interests. look, this is an industry that has been under a lot of scrutiny and a lot of challenges on how we could reduce the health impact of our products, which are clearly there. cigarettes are a clearly harmful product for those that decide to carry on using it. this is the first time that we have the technology to do that. now we have to come on to the question of trust. if we look recently, you've paid a $600 million fine for smuggling cigarettes into north korea. you've paid $100 million for anti—competitive practices in nigeria, and now you're trying to be a big voice in regulation in the uk. what do you say to those people who say, actually, bat

is still a company that we don't trust? look, we have exhaustively spoken about those problems in the past and these days they're in the past, where i can just talk about our future and bat today has the opportunity that we didn't have in the past — to reduce the risk of our products. and that's exactly what we want to focus on. in other news... more than 100 tractors rolled past the houses of parliament on monday evening as farmers protested against what they say is a lack of support for uk food production. 0rganisers save british farming and fairness for farmers of kent said cheap food imports and unsupportive policies were putting uk food security at risk. the government said it put farming "at the heart of british trade". wework co—founder adam neumann has reportedly moved to buy the troubled office—sharing company. according to us media reports he has made a bid of more than $500 million for the firm. that is it for now. goodbye.

hello from the bbc sport centre. it'll be a nerve shredding night in cardiff as wales take on poland with the winners going to this summer's european championship. both endured difficult regular qualifying campaigns up to the playoffs, but last week wales comfortably dispatched finland 4—1, while poland thrashed estonia. the wales manager, rob page, had been under intense pressure, but his side has responded well and they now stand on the brink of their third successive euros. it would be a great achievement for us to qualify, and in the manner in which we have done, you are always going to get bumps on the roads during any campaign and we had one in the summer, but what pleases me is the reaction since then, unbeaten

in seven matches, and to play